Soupergirl Flies into Atlanta

A Jewish-owned soup-making company started out of Washington, D.C. has recently expanded into the Atlanta market. Soupergirl (not to be confused with Souper Jenny’s, the local Jewish-owned chain with its own “souperhero” mascot) was founded by the mother-daughter duo of Marilyn and Sara Polon.

In 2008, after Sara returned home from New York City, where she had been pursuing a career in comedy, she became interested in the problems surrounding the industrial food system and decided to do something about it.

Marilyn became involved when, according to the brand’s website, she “point[ed] out that her daughter is mediocre at best in the kitchen, and decid[ed] she need[ed] to step in.”

The Star-K-certified brand expanded rapidly, with Sara at the helm. She managed to get the soup into the northeast branches of Whole Foods, Costco and later Kroger — as one of the first winners of their Go Fresh Go Local program.

The duo even went on Shark Tank, where Sara refused to compromise quality by shifting distribution to a copacker, something she still holds to.

“In fact, we are moving and expanding our production facilities. There is no copacker in our near future,” she said.

Now, with most of their products Fair Food-certified, and the business completely plastic neutral (not to mention the commitments to locally sourced foods and green energy), the Polons are that much closer to achieving their goals.

“My mom and I, in 2008, we liked to say we had this very naive vision of changing the world one bowl of soup at a time,” Sara recalled. “As we grew, we learned more and more about how much work there needs to be done in our industrial food system. With each passing year, with each passing obstacle or accolade or accomplishment, we try to tackle more.”

All of their soups are vegan and kosher pareve, something Sara believes is vital to the company’s values.

“The laws of kashrut — they were there all along. And they are really formulated to make us pay attention to the food and make us take care of the world. The laws of kashrut have really helped me stay the course, stay focused, as we grow this business,” she said.

As they do every year, the company plans to roll out their kosher-for-Pesach soups through Costco and online, right in time for the holiday. Soupergirl soups are now available at Atlanta-area Costco and Kroger locations and will be available at Whole Foods in January.